Paris, France. Senior U.S. and Chinese economic officials began a new round of talks on Sunday to address issues in their trade truce ahead of a planned late-March meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Talks led by Treasury and Chinese vice premier
The discussions are led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, and are expected to focus on shifting U.S. tariffs, the flow of Chinese-produced rare earth minerals and magnets to U.S. buyers, American high-tech export controls, and Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural products.
A U.S. Treasury official said the talks began Sunday morning at the Paris headquarters of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. China is not a member of the 38-country group and considers itself a developing country.
Greer to join, continuing a series of European meetings
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will also join the talks, which follow a series of meetings in European cities last year aimed at easing tensions that threatened a near collapse of trade between the two economies.
Analysts see limited prospects for major breakthrough
U.S.-China trade analysts said limited preparation time and Washington’s attention focused on the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran reduce the prospects for a major trade breakthrough in Paris or at the Beijing summit.
Scott Kennedy, a China economics expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said both sides have a minimum goal of holding a meeting that avoids a rupture and a re-escalation of tensions.
Kennedy said Trump may want major Chinese commitments to order new Boeing aircraft and buy more U.S. liquefied natural gas and soybeans, but added that such outcomes may require a concession on U.S. export controls. He said chances were high for a summit that appears to show progress but largely maintains the status quo of the past four months.
Potential additional Trump-Xi meetings this year
Trump and Xi could potentially meet three other times this year, including at a China-hosted APEC summit in November and a U.S.-hosted G20 summit in December.
Iran conflict and oil supply concerns
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is expected to come up in the Paris talks, including in relation to the spike in oil prices and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which China gets 45% of its oil.
Bessent announced on Thursday night a 30-day waiver of sanctions to allow the sale of Russian oil stranded at sea in tankers, a move aimed at raising supplies.
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